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A thankful yet determined Mayor Lovely Warren welcomed a state agreement Friday that will send an additional $6 million in aid to Rochester — and reiterated that Rochester needs more help from Albany.

"We know that we have a lot of work that we need to do as it pertains to ... equalizing the (state aid) formula, but this is definitely a start," Warren said.

The city has long argued it gets less in state aid per capita than neighboring Buffalo and Syracuse, though the gap has been narrowing over the last decade. The added funding emerged during final budget negotiations in the state capitol. That money will cut into the city's projected $28 million budget shortfall, while pushing total state aid to $94 million this year. Warren is scheduled to deliver her first proposed budget on May 16.

Warren has made repeated trips to Albany as well as Washington, D.C., seeking added financial assistance while also exploring ways to add to or increase revenues at home. Reacting to the state budget deal during a Friday afternoon news conference at City Hall, the mayor said: "I am ... very, very happy that they heard that call, they started to move on that, and we are hopeful that when we go into actually allocating program dollars that our other projects will be also funded."

The mayor also is seeking $100 million for a performing arts center downtown — which won't be part of this year's budget. Meeting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week, Warren said, "he said to me it wasn't necessarily off the table" but also did not make a commitment, instead suggesting she work through the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council. Warren has a meeting scheduled with that council's leadership next week.

"In order to receive, we must ask first," Warren said. "Closed mouths don't get fed."

Warren said the $100 million should cover construction costs. The preferred location remains Midtown. She spoke of such a project throughout the mayoral campaign, but actual discussions are in the very early going. Among the many questions is whether and where a proposed movie theater would be located on the site, and how it might be combined with a theater to minimize the expected need for operational subsidies.

Other unfunded requests include money for moving to a police quadrant model, stepped-up demolition of abandoned and blighted structures, other capital projects and renovation of Sibley Tower.

"Of course, we will keep pushing," Warren said.

The $6 million will be directed mainly toward helping the city with its anti-poverty efforts, state officials said. Rochester ranked seventh in the nation for its percentage of poor children, U.S. census data in 2012 showed.

"We're very pleased, particularly because it helps to address not only the city's fiscal challenges, but also the persistent poverty challenges that we have faced," said Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit.

The Assembly included $12.4 million in its one-house budget for Rochester, but the sides settled for $6 million.

The city has received a flat $88 million in its base allotment of state aid to municipalities, called AIM, for several years. There has been the occasional one-time "spin-up," including one for $15 million two years ago. Whether the $6 million will translate to an annual increase is yet unknown. The city has not seen its base allocation increased since 2008.

"This $6 million, similar to AIM, will help them balance their budgets," said Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece. "We're trying to keep it as unrestricted as we can."